1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to filing cabinets and other structures or devices having drawers for storing objects therein. More particularly, the present invention relates to filing cabinets having one or more drawers and/or file hangers that, when opened, can be raised to an elevation that enables easy access to the contents of the drawers.
2. The Prior State of the Art
Filing cabinets have been used for years to organize and store documents, papers and the like. Other similar devices have been constructed for storing other objects. A typical conventional filing cabinet has several drawers movably connected to a frame, with the drawers being arranged vertically with respect to one another. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a filing cabinet 10 from the prior art. The frame 12 is generally enclosed on the top, back, sides, and sometimes, bottom, with a housing. The drawers 14 slide laterally forward from the frame 12 and housing to expose the contents, while sliding back into the frame when not being accessed by a user. Filing cabinets can have any number of drawers, and typically have between two and six drawers or more.
Most filing cabinets that are intended to be used to store files and documents are configured in one of two general ways. The primary distinction between the two types of filing cabinets, namely lateral cabinets and vertical cabinets, is the alignment of files and documents that are received and stored in the drawers thereof.
As shown in FIG. 1, the drawers 14 of lateral, or horizontal, filing cabinets have a depth that is sufficient to receive files 16 and documents 18, with the length, L, of the documents 18 being aligned with the depth dimension, D, of the drawers. Usually, but not always, lateral filing cabinets, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, have drawers 14 that have a width dimension. W, greater than a height dimension, H, when viewed from the front of the filing cabinet 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, the drawers 14xe2x80x2 of vertical filing cabinets 10xe2x80x2 have a width dimension, W, that is sufficient to receive files 16 and documents 18, with the length, L, of the documents being aligned with the width dimension, W, of the drawers. Usually, but not always, vertical filing cabinets have drawers 14xe2x80x2 with a depth dimension, D, that is greater than the width dimension, W, when viewed from the front of the filing cabinet 10xe2x80x2.
Lateral filing cabinets 10 have the advantage of requiring the drawers 14 to be opened a distance that is generally less than that required of vertical cabinets 10xe2x80x2. In particular, if files 16 or documents 18 stored in lateral filing cabinets 10 have a length of 12 inches, the drawers 14 need to be opened a distance of slightly more than 12 inches to provide clearance for the files 16 or documents 18. This feature often allows lateral filing cabinets 10 to be somewhat more stable than their vertical counterparts, since the center of mass does not shift laterally when a drawer 14 is opened to the same extent that it would shift in a vertical filing cabinet 10xe2x80x2.
Vertical filing cabinets 10xe2x80x2 have an advantage of generally requiring less wall space when placed in a room. As shown in FIG. 2, the width. W, of drawers 14xe2x80x2 of vertical filing cabinet 10xe2x80x2 needs to be at most several inches wider than the length, L, of the files 16 or documents 18 that are stored therein.
Filing cabinet users have often experienced inconvenience and physical stress when accessing the bottom drawer or drawers of a filing cabinet. As can be appreciated, conventional filing cabinets have lower drawers that can be accessed only by the user kneeling on the floor or bending uncomfortably low. However, for space and economic reasons, it is desirable to use lower drawers to store files, documents, and other items. In view of the foregoing, it would be an advancement in the art to provide filing cabinets or other similar devices that enable users to conveniently access lower drawers without having to kneel or otherwise experience the physical stress that has so often accompanied filing cabinet use.
The present invention relates to filing cabinets having at least one drawer, or a file hanger included in a drawer, that can be selectively lifted from a first elevation to a second elevation when the drawer has been moved to an open position with respect to the frame of the filing cabinet. The filing cabinet includes the frame; drawers, including the drawer that can be lifted; and a drawer-opening assembly that movably connects the drawer to the frame. Conventional filing cabinets can be modified and retrofitted to exhibit the features of the invention disclosed herein.
When the drawer is opened, it can be disengaged from the drawer-opening assembly and lifted to a position that is more accessible to users of the filing cabinet. The drawer can be lifted by force supplied by the user, by mechanical or electrical devices, or by a combination of the foregoing. Examples of the mechanical or electrical devices include pneumatic pistons, hydraulic pistons, spring-activated structures, and electric motors. Pneumatic pistons and spring-activated structures have the advantage of being self-contained force-generating devices that do not require any external energy supply. Hydraulic pistons and electric motors have the advantage of being capable of supplying a variable amount of force that might be needed to lift the drawer.
The bottom drawer or a number of bottom drawers of the filing cabinet can experience the lifting motion. One advantage of the present invention is reduction of physical stress on those who use filing cabinets or any other piece of furniture or structure in which the invention is implemented. There are several benefits that result from lifting filing cabinet drawers according to the invention. For instance, a user of a filing cabinet constructed according to the invention is able to more easily view the objects in the drawers. The user can also more conveniently locate and retrieve desired objects from the drawers or place objects into the drawers. Moreover, because drawers can be lifted to a more suitable elevation with respect to the floor, heavy objects can be more easily lifted to and from the drawers.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.